April Explorations
April has represented a period of growth and opportunity here at Impressums Jewellery, marked by a concerted effort to expand and evolve the business through investment of time and money in new tools and techniques to develop my skills and the pieces that I can offer.
Hallmark Registered
I started this month by registering my Hallmark with the Birmingham Assay Office. This institution upholds quality standards in the UK and ensures the authenticity of precious metals. Previously, I focused on smaller designs to meet hallmarking requirements of 7.78g for Sterling Silver. Now, I can create and sell larger pieces without restrictions.Hallmarking in the UK has a rich history dating back to the 1300s, serving as the oldest form of consumer protection, a way of ensuring that precious metals are verified before being sold. Precious metals aren't often used in their purest form. They are typically alloyed with other metals to achieve the desired strength, durability, and colour. Detecting the precious metal content by sight or touch is nearly impossible.
As a result, it’s a legal requirement to hallmark items made of these metals if they are to be labelled as such. However, there are specific weight thresholds for hallmarking, including 0.5 grams for Platinum, 1 gram for Gold, 1 gram for Palladium, and 7.78 grams for Silver. As makers cannot apply hallmarks themselves, items must be submitted to one of the four UK Assay Offices (Birmingham, London, Sheffield or Edinburgh).
I chose Birmingham Assay office, as it is the most local office to me, but also has the anchor mark as it's assay office mark.
Commitment to Expanding my Collections
